Patents Examined by Chase E Leichliter
  • Patent number: 12290758
    Abstract: This application discloses an operation control method performed at a computer device. The method includes: detecting a target distance between a first virtual object and a second virtual object in a racing game, a position of the first virtual object being located behind a position of the second virtual object in the racing game; when a duration for which the target distance is less than or equal to a first distance threshold has reached a first time threshold: performing an acceleration operation on the first virtual object according to an increased driving control force; and updating the first virtual object from a first rendering effect to a second rendering effect.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2023
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Xiongfei Huang
  • Patent number: 12293633
    Abstract: Systems and methods that orchestrate security measures between one or more gaming establishment accounts and/or a payment instrument, such as a debit card, employed to access funds associated with the gaming establishment account.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: IGT
    Inventors: Kevin Higgins, Jeffery Shepherd
  • Patent number: 12293339
    Abstract: A cashless gaming method including receiving payment for a selected gaming ticket having a predefined fixed value, the gaming ticket being redeemable at a cashless-enabled gaming machine for an associated amount of wagerable credits, and issuing the fixed value gaming ticket to the player responsive to receiving the payment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 2022
    Date of Patent: May 6, 2025
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
    Inventor: Ryan Paul Hawkins
  • Patent number: 12288447
    Abstract: Systems and methods for live sporting event wagering with data security and integrity are disclosed. At least one input capture device and at least one user device are constructed and configured in network communication with at least one computing platform. The at least one input capture device is configured to transmit live input data relating to a live sporting event to the at least one computing platform in real time or near real time. The at least one computing platform is configured to aggregate and analyze the live input data, thereby creating analyzed data. The at least one computing platform is further configured to set odds for wagering in the live sporting event based on the analyzed data in real time or near real time. The at least one user device is configured to display the odds, receive bets, and transmit the bets to the at least one computing platform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 2, 2024
    Date of Patent: April 29, 2025
    Assignee: SportsMEDIA Technology Corporation
    Inventor: Gerard J. Hall
  • Patent number: 12272206
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention are directed to gaming devices and gaming systems that are configured to implement event-based gaming operations. Here, a gaming device includes a game event list that has game outcomes associated with each entry in the game event list. The game event list is generated before game play on the gaming device by selecting general game outcome types or specific game outcomes for each of the entries in the game event list. During game play, a game counter is incremented to a next entry in the game event list and an associated game outcome is displayed on the gaming device during the gaming event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2022
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Acres Technology
    Inventor: John F. Acres
  • Patent number: 12268957
    Abstract: A directional pad for a controller can comprise a shell that includes a top having opposing upper and lower surfaces and a plurality of openings that each extend from the upper surface to the lower surface. The directional pad can also comprise a plurality of protrusions that are each movable between a retracted state in which the protrusion is disposed at or below the upper surface of the top of the shell and a deployed state in which the protrusion extends through a respective one of the openings of the top of the shell such that at least a portion of the protrusion is disposed above the upper surface of the top of the shell. A plurality of actuators can each be configured to move a respective one of the protrusions between the retracted and deployed states.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 5, 2023
    Date of Patent: April 8, 2025
    Assignee: Dell Products L.P.
    Inventor: Jason Scott Morrison
  • Patent number: 12243376
    Abstract: An electronic gaming system conducts a reel-based electronic wagering game, in which jackpot upgrade symbols are added to one or more reel strips based on the occurrence of one or more reel upgrade symbols in the wagering game. In the exemplary embodiment, jackpot upgrade symbols are added to a third reel strip based on the occurrence of one or more reel upgrade symbols on a first reel strip, and to a fifth reel strip based on the occurrence of one or more reel upgrade symbols on the third reel strip. In addition, jackpot upgrade symbols are added to the first and third reel strips to replace the one or more reel upgrade symbols occurring thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2024
    Date of Patent: March 4, 2025
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
    Inventors: T. Grant Bolling, Jr., Michael P. Casey
  • Patent number: 12220632
    Abstract: The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus for executing an interaction event. The method may include displaying a picture of a preparatory stage prior to start of an interaction process in a virtual scene. A first group of avatars may be engaging in the interaction process, and the interaction process may include one or more interaction events. The method may further include determining a target avatar in the first group of avatars based on attribute information of the first group of avatars. The target interaction event may be an interaction event that allows to be jointly executed by the first group of avatars. The method may further include, in response to the target avatar triggering the target interaction event in the preparatory stage, displaying a picture of a second group of avatars executing the target interaction event.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: Tencent Technology (Shenzhen) Company Limited
    Inventor: Zhonghua Yu
  • Patent number: 12220634
    Abstract: This application discloses a method for transmitting prompt information in a multiplayer online battle program performed by a terminal. The method includes: displaying a user interface (UI) from a perspective corresponding to a master virtual character of the multiplayer online battle program; receiving a prompt activation operation on the UI for activating a prompt information transmission function; selecting a plurality of skill display elements in the UI corresponding to the prompt activation operation; receiving a prompt release operation on a target skill display element among the plurality of skill display elements; determining target prompt information specific to the target skill display element; and transmitting the determined target prompt information to one or more virtual characters that are teammates of the master virtual character.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 16, 2023
    Date of Patent: February 11, 2025
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventor: Hao Song
  • Patent number: 12211349
    Abstract: A gaming system comprises a display device configured to present a plurality of symbol positions and game-logic circuitry. The game-logic circuitry generates a game cycle counter for a game feature at an initial value, for each game cycle outcome of a plurality of game cycle outcomes, updates the current count of the game cycle counter and causes the display device to: (i) populate the symbol positions with randomly selected symbols and (ii) in response to the randomly selected symbols including an award symbol, present an award sequence for a set of award values associated with the award symbol, wherein the number of award values within the set of award values is at least partially a function of the current count of the game cycle counter. The game-logic circuitry further causes, in response to the current count reaching a termination value, the display device to conclude the game feature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2023
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: LNW Gaming, Inc.
    Inventors: George Bouvier, Mario McGregor, Kenneth Shawn Soong
  • Patent number: 12208330
    Abstract: A sense of strangeness that is given by an avoiding action is alleviated. An information processing program realizes, with a computer: an avoiding-action execution function for causing a first character to execute an avoiding action on the basis of the input of an avoiding operation by a player; a determination function for determining whether or not a predetermined condition is satisfied in the case where an avoiding operation has been input by the player; and a special-attack execution function for causing a second character to execute a special attack, which is an attack that targets the first character and that results in a failure, in the case where it is determined by the determination function that the predetermined condition is satisfied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 27, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: CYGAMES, INC.
    Inventors: Junji Tago, Kazuki Yanashima
  • Patent number: 12208326
    Abstract: Described herein are techniques for implementing a virtualized physical controller. The techniques may comprise displaying, on a touchscreen display, an origin object and a set of potential target objects, receiving, from a user via the touchscreen display, a touch input associated with an action to be performed with respect to the origin object, determining, based on the action, a target object of the set of potential target objects on which the action is to be performed, changing a facing of the origin object to be directed toward the target object, and causing the action to be performed by the origin object on the target object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 28, 2025
    Assignee: Bungie, Inc.
    Inventor: Gregory Peng
  • Patent number: 12186664
    Abstract: An electronic device sets first position preference information of a first user account in response to receiving a preference setting operation. The device displays a first current team position corresponding to the first user account in response to receiving a game matching operation. The first current team position is a position played by the first user account in the current online game and is assigned based on the first position preference information. The electronic device displays a plurality of candidate virtual characters based on the first current team position. In response to receiving a selection operation performed on a target virtual character in the plurality of candidate virtual characters, the electronic device designates the target virtual character as a master character of the first user account in the current online game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2025
    Assignee: TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED
    Inventors: Peiyuan Zeng, Peicheng Liu, Jinwei Xu
  • Patent number: 12183157
    Abstract: An electronic gaming machine includes a display device, a memory device, and a processor. The processor displays a matrix of symbol positions formed by a plurality of reels. The processor also displays a bingo card. The processor determines an outcome that includes a first plurality of symbols to display in the matrix of symbol positions and evaluates the outcome to determine a win amount. The processor populates the matrix of bingo positions with the first prize symbol to a bingo position of the matrix of bingo positions corresponding to a position of the prize symbol in the matrix of symbol positions. The processor evaluates the matrix of bingo positions to determine whether a predefined winning pattern is formed and, in response, determines an award value based at least in part on numerical values of prize symbols forming the predefined winning pattern in the matrix of bingo positions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Limited
    Inventors: Daniel Marks, Hua Xu
  • Patent number: 12178511
    Abstract: A map of a person's spatial vision abilities, including areas of low acuity and areas of high acuity, may be generated from medical records or from a calibration phase. During presentation of a computer simulation such as a computer game, the map is provided to a foveated renderer to optimize which areas should be rendered most crisply. Content placement may be optimized to ensure that any critical elements to the game, for instance, any text that needs to be seen or treasures or special pickups that need to be seen clearly can be moved into regions of the player's field of view that the person has higher acuity in.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 3, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.
    Inventor: Steven Osman
  • Patent number: 12179115
    Abstract: A method is provided for generating virtual objects in a virtual scene at a computing device. The method includes, obtaining a first selection of one or more first-level virtual object types for a first group in a deck-building interface. The method also includes obtaining a second selection of one or more second-level virtual object types for a second group in the deck-building interface, wherein the first selection and the second selection are based on user input. The method further includes in response to a determination that a deck in the deck-building interface is complete based on the obtained first selection and second selection, displaying a user interface (UI) for the user to generate and control the selected first-level virtual object types and the selected second-level virtual object types in real time in the virtual scene.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 29, 2024
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2024
    Assignee: Tencent America LLC
    Inventors: Taeyeon Kim, Stefan Haines
  • Patent number: 12172073
    Abstract: The technology necessary for hands-free video gaming is available, especially for head-gesture-centric controls. However, remapping controls to head gestures ranges from frustratingly tedious to impossible. The inventor proposes a common language of gestures and game actions that categorizes the controls by their use frequency. The suggested categories are primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary. The most preferred gestures and more frequently used controls are classified as primary while the least preferred gestures and least frequently used controls classified as quaternary. The inventor also proposes constructing an interface software and API to gather data from game designers, hardware designers, and users to suggest optimized game controls for users requiring accessibility.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Inventor: Andrea Joy Brucculeri
  • Patent number: 12175831
    Abstract: An electronic gaming device including a first display device, a second display device, a memory device with instructions stored thereon, and a processor is described. The instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine a first game outcome for an electronic game wherein the first game outcome is associated with a first historical event and cause display of the first historical event on the first display device. The instructions also cause the processor to determine that the first display device is one of defective or disconnected, determine a second game outcome for the electronic game wherein the second game outcome is associated with a second historical event, and automatically cause display of the second historical event on the second display device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Assignee: Aristocrat Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Deepak Kumar, Aaron Oxford, Gabriel Johnson
  • Patent number: 12172090
    Abstract: An article of manufacture for providing game controller removable handles according to the present invention is a pair of removable handles in which each of the two the removable handles include a left removable handle and a right removable handle. Each of the two removable handles have an inner surface having a wider inner edge and a narrower inner edge, an outer surface having a wider outer edge and a narrower outer edge, and a plurality of raised ridges positioned along the outer surface, each of the raised ridges are oriented across the wider outer edge of the outer surface and separated by a distance sufficient to permit fingers to rest between the raised ridges when held. A set of concave grooves are positioned between each pair of the raised ridges to create finger locations when the handles are attached to a game controller in use.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 13, 2022
    Date of Patent: December 24, 2024
    Inventor: Davis Allen Jolly
  • Patent number: 12161943
    Abstract: The object of the present invention relates to an energy management system of hardware of an electronic RF die for the coordination of the electronic RF die with remote terminals (e.g., PC, tablet, smartphone, gaming console). The system for reducing the consumption of an electronic game die includes four different activation levels of the hardware components, such as the microcontroller and accelerometer. The system includes two different activation thresholds, which can be set and updated dynamically, and are detected by the accelerometer to activate the different hardware components and adjust the transition between operating modes. The system detects the active presence of remote terminals and, particularly, whether or not the data sent has been received. Further, the system dynamically adapts the parameters of the four operating modes and the two activation thresholds to the different use situations of the die, i.e., to different environmental and game conditions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2024
    Assignee: XPLORED S.R.L.
    Inventor: Enrico Garofalo